Now that I've got the Shielded loop in some sort of working order I'd like to try it out in earnest in the next few days (before the FM SpE season starts). So what is likely to be about during the late afternoons and into the evenings? And is Transatlantic DX still possible this time of year?

No mention of easterly stations so I'll kick it off. For early evening to mid evening in the current season.

1566 HLAZ Jeju South Korea

Even easier, the various Armenias: 864 - 1350 - 1377 - 1395*. These are hardly DX in wintertime but the summer challenge would be to see how early they propagate to your loop and how good the loop is at nulling out the co-channels.

* Haven't heard this one in April. The relay of Dengê Welat has possibly stopped.

Thanks for all the feedback. Lots to become familiar with, including which direction the nulls are in . From the early hours of this morning I appear to have carriers that are just lifting into intelligibility on 1440 and 1560 around 0415 to 0500 UTC - just before sunrise.

But I've no idea of what TA conditions are like t the moment - more resources to have to learn about...

As posted elsewhere having realised the nulls are at right angles to the plane of the loop I was ble to confirm the loop's capabilty of nulling a signal on 252 kHz. I could get RTE at S7 on HDSDR but null it completely and get Algeria at S5 - in each case with no trace of the other station.

The one on 1560 kHz is the type of singing group you used to get on "Friday Night is Music Night", 1540 kHz, recorded on USB to avoid 1539 kHz, is some other singing, not quite as clear. There were quite a few carriers on North American frequencies after 2 am (I exclude the frequencies which match European allocations) which were not strong enough to produce audio.

I don't know what this reception represents in the wider context - but it looks like my first ever TA reception on MW.

No doubt WFME on 1560. That's definitely the music played by CHIN on 1540 at that time. You can hear how it sounds off tune slightly, as they are. My own recording also has another station in there in English. Presumed WDCD, which you might find fades up at times.

Thanks for confirmation of those two stations John. I found a third one on 1520 just before 03:00 UTC, which fades up nicely so I can clearly hear what the two male presenters are saying. I presume it will be WWKB from Buffalo New York.https://app.box.com/s/xsq66tmu7sx496z5qg4rvygxhv1gwv0v

Around 02:15-03:00 UTCthis morning (May 2nd) 1560 and 1540 are present again. There are also weaker carriers on 1510, 1500 and 1470.

Out of interest - are my recordings weaker than your reception or similar? Obviously I want to get a feel for the performance of the loop. Also did you get TA signal at the low end of the MW on the 1st?

The simple answer is "about the same". I will record a quick demonstration shortly. This should give you a better feel for what to look for, bearing in mind that we don't usually hear much of interest during the lighter months. (Trying to avoid using words like "warmer" and "summer". )

You would benefit from having a flag antenna. Loops are great, but bi-directional - and very good at nulling to the sides.

I wish I could find the 3D plots of the flag antenna. The loop plot resembles a car tyre/rubber ring, while the flag (and ewe), well, picture an elongated balloon where somebody has pushed their finger deeply into one side, pressing it right into the middle. The rear nulls are not only both wide and deep, but also quite stable.

Thanks again John - not sure about "hooked" but the bait is dangling in front of me However SpE will soon take up all the available time.

I've considered a flag antenna but it needs support poles, and somewhere for the bottom wire to run which won't get in the way. And the main null would be in the wrong direction.The shielded loop is supposed to shield from electrical noise. The loop antenna was an achievable project - with some more development work to put into it.

No doubt I will be checking MW far more often when the daylight hours are much shorter.

A very informative video John - looks like the shielded loop is doing a reasonably good job. 1560 WFME was there from around 0200 to 050 UTC on the 2nd May - fading in and out. 140 and 1520 mainly as carriers along with a few others. Should be very interesting when conditions are good.